Nick, like many Brigands, first played cricket for the Brigands during his service in the Royal Navy. He remembers it being probably in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, encouraged along by Roy Newman.
By then he’d played up to Navy standard mostly as an opening batsman and close-in fielder, but his submarine career had since taken over, and he was to move home many times allowing only occasional Brigands appearances for equally many years. But in 1994, returning from the USA (for the first time) he started playing for the Brigands a little more regularly again, and aided the admin of RN Cricket, soon becoming its Chairman until 2000.
In that time he restored women’s cricket to the RN, throwing down the gauntlet to the other two services to provide opposition! But then a further 3 year period in the USA, and then Scotland, kept him away again for six years until 2007 when at last he returned to the Brigands permanently. He played regularly from then on, always standing at gully and occasionally hitting solid runs opening the batting.
He was honoured to be asked to become Chairman of the club in 2011, and hung up his playing boots in 2019. He is an ACO Level 1 umpire.
Nick and the Brigands are always tirelessly supported by his wife Jenny, and both of their daughters revised for GCSEs and A Levels on the boundary! Now he hopes that least one of his four grandchildren might appear as players on the ground one day.
